After forty years of teaching I longed for peace and quiet – and the time and place to return to working with clay. I soon realised that I felt quite isolated. I needed to improve my practice and to get out of my seventies ceramic time warp. These were the main reasons for my joining the course.
I had some initial moments of panic during the hand building and tile making projects with regard to the timescales; I was used to working at my own pace and felt pressured then disappointed with the finished pieces which were far from perfect.
The “Stand and Deliver” project was the time when we seemed to come together as a group, sharing our ideas and supporting each other each other. We spent valuable time as a group and individually with Dave and Rob, getting to know them and finding out how Geoff would support us with technical advice.
Coming late to the Self-initiated Project, I felt a sense of playing catch up throughout. I had some anxiety around not having any significant or truly satisfying finished pieces which is something I need to get over and acknowledge the value of the steps along the way. Exploring and testing with different types of clay, surface texture and colour will all stand me in good stead for developing my practice in the future.
The focus of my work remains the forest, the forest floor and the seasonal cycle of decay and renewal.
There is of course an unfinished feel to the end of this year, for obvious reasons. My practice would have improved this last semester had I the benefit of Dave and Rob’s teaching, Geoff’s technical help and the mutual support within our happy little band. Hopefully we will return to the workshop this year.
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